


And the Circle Starts Again

by VolxdoSioda



Series: KHR Rarepair Week 2018 (Complete) [4]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Fantasy AU, Gen, KHR Rarepair Week 2018, khrrarepair week: Day 4 [Lightning]
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2019-06-06 19:10:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15201509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VolxdoSioda/pseuds/VolxdoSioda
Summary: When people talk about Lord of the Wastes, they never mention his propensity for collecting things. Or his alliance with the Guardian of the Nine Circles.And both of those things are rather important to know in long-term survival as their Summoner.





	And the Circle Starts Again

When the villagers and the townsfolk tend to speak about the Lord of the Wastes, they never mention his propensity for collecting things, or his alliance with the Guardian of the Nine Circles. And while both of these facts seem inconsequential by themselves, together they are rather important to know in order to survive long-term as their Summoner.

Because the Lord and the Guardian were both sealed off long ago, in a tower at the top of the Edge. The land around it has become thick with strange mutations, but as it comes down towards the village the mutations fade, and a clear ‘stripe’ between mutated and clean land has established itself. In this stripe, there is a fence, not very tall, but enough to warn people that it is the boundary line. Going any further typically results in death. So of course not many would choose to draw near.

But for the villagers of Nami, down on the very edge of the stripe, they don’t need to worry about going to the boundary so much as they do the boundary coming to  _ them. _

The Lord of the Waste and the Guardian of the Ninth Circles were called Gods at the height of their power. Whether they are true gods or not, nobody knows. But nobody dares say they aren’t, either. When the autumn solstice comes, when the harvests run dry and the ground turns black and thick with ooze, they know it’s time for the Choosing. For one day, the Lord and the Guardian are granted freedom, and it is for this twenty-four hour period that they choose the one to hold their power - their Summoner.

Through them, they exist once more, though only on the tower, or on the Edge’s mutated land. For the one chosen, the only way out is when the contract ends. Whether by death, or by peaceful bargaining after so many years, it doesn’t matter. When the contract ends, the Summoner is free from their duties once more, and they may return to their village home.

Assuming of course, anyone wants a child that has gone “strange” by that point. After all, living with a pair of Gods so long does things, changes people. They know magic and spellwork like they’ve been doing it their entire lives, they can create and destroy in the same breathe. But most of all, those that come back seem to have no interest in returning to their old lives. Oh perhaps they’ll stay a while, but all of them eventually realize it isn’t what they want, and leave.

And the cycle continues, on and on and on.

But here is what those who became Summoners and were made to return to their quiet lives after the absence of the might-be Gods will tell you, if asked.

The Lord of the Wastes collects things. Beautiful things, mostly. Shiny things, things of value. He, or she, depending on how they feel, treasure these things, and so when they collect their Summoner they will demand they dress in fine garments, and learn to speak clearly. That they will speak  _ honestly,  _ because they have no interest in dolls with no thoughts of their own. And so from the Summoner comes confidence, honesty, and a comfortability in their own skin that not many down in the village or towns have.

The Guardian of the Ninth Circles values survival. He has lived through Hell, through Samsara - the cycle of rebirth - countless times. He has learned what it takes to survive no matter the odds, and he has done so with relish. From their shared Summoner, he expects them to learn to clench their teeth, and push through the discomfort of seeing blood and bone and guts for the first time. He teaches them in small steps, lets them learn violence at his own hand, and gives them whatever weapons they feel comfortable holding. From him, the Summoner learns survival and violence and the task of putting your line in the sand and holding firm when other people want to push.

These are the things Tsuna has learned in his time with Mammon and Daemon, and they are lessons he treasures. He was seven when he was taken from his village. He is now twenty-five, and the bond mark upon his skin is as dark as ever. He has no wish to be parted from them, to unlearn their lessons, to unfeel their presence from his own body.

He has stopped aging.

He thinks maybe he should ask Daemon about it, or perhaps even Mammon. But the truth is he already knows the answer to the ‘why’ of it. He’s known since he was taken at seven, since the seal was placed on his body and in a fit of fever he brought both Mammon and Daemon out into the world. He remembers looking up at Mammon, at the countless waves of beautifully coiled scales, into eyes like amethyst. He remembers turning to find Daemon and having to  _ look carefully  _ to find him, because with his thin figure and camouflage, he could have melted right into the walls. His claws should have ripped Tsuna to shreds, much like the mantis he seemed to embody, but Daemon had been oh-so-careful.

He’s known for a very long time that he is here because he feels comfortable enough to remain, to find a way to break the power holding these two in place. And he has stopped aging because his job is not done. Perhaps when the seal breaks, he will be free. But for now, the Lord and the Guardian have only one Summoner, and will continue to have one Summoner for many years to come.

The villagers will be happy, Tsuna is sure.


End file.
